'Helmer' draws rave reviews

The Detroit Red Wings' veterans have been very pleasantly surprised by the play of rookie forward Darren Helm, whose speed and skill have jump-started an effective fourth line on which Helm is centering the less-than-fleet-footed Darren McCarty and Jiri Hudler:

April 22, Detroit News: "He's going to be a good NHL player," said McCarty, who got to know Helm during McCarty's conditioning stint at Grand Rapids late in the season. "The first time you see him, you notice his speed. He makes things happen. He wants to play, he has fun and he listens. He wants to get better."

[Wings coach Mike] Babcock wasn't hesitant to use Helm, 21, because of Helm's success with Canada's world junior team, as well as Helm's experience in the Memorial Cup (major junior championships). Helm brought energy and poised play from the start Sunday.

"That's how I have to play to help the team win," Helm said. "Get on the defense quick and create chances."

The Macomb Daily's Bruce MacLeod noted that both Chris Osgood and Babcock gave Helm praise for setting up Jiri Hudler's 2-0 goal with a slick tape-to-tape pass, and they did so without brompting:

April 22, Macomb Daily: "I was real impressed with Helm tonight," said Osgood after Game 6 in Nashville. "He was awesome for a young kid. He's 20 years old (he turned 21 in January), smart player, handles the puck. Huds (Jiri Hudler) is obviously a sniper who can score from anywhere and he gets the puck on his stick. I think they compliment each other. We need everybody to score. I've said all along, we can't just have Pav (Datsyuk) and Hank (Henrik Zetterberg) be our two guys every game."

"I thought Helm was fantastic," said Babcock. "They were our best line in the first period. Helm's got so much speed and is such a good hockey player that it lets a guy like (Darren) McCarty, who knows how to play the game with good hockey sense, and obviously a guy like Huds do what they do."

Helm's line scored the second goal of a 3-0 victory early in the third period. It was Helm who picked up a Nashville turnover in the neutral zone and exploded the other way with speed. When McCarty drove the net drawing two defenders, Helm dropped a pass that Hudler one-timed for a goal. To be balanced, Helm also made a young-man's mistake -- a turnover just inside the offensive zone -- that led to a Nashville breakaway during Game 6.

Wings assistant GM Jim Nill reiterated Babcock's suggestions that Helm was able to step into an NHL playoff game because of his experience as a member of Team Canada's World Junior Championship team and as part of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers during their Memorial Cup run:

"Those are great pressure situations," said Detroit assistant general manager Jim Nill. "You always want your kids to play at the highest level they can and under pressure because in the Stanley Cup final, that's what they're going to have to do."

As for Helm himself, the Winnipegger is simply enjoying his on and off-ice apprenticeship..

"It's just been a blast, lots of fun," said Helm. "It's great to see how everybody gets ready and excited for these games. It's the best time of the year for hockey. Nowhere else I'd rather be playing than here."

But he also agrees with Nil and Babcock's respective assessments:

"The fact that I've been there and had these types of games, calms me down," said Helm. "In my first couple of those games, I was really tight and tentative. Now, it's just another game. You prepare for it just the same. You go a little bit harder and a little bit stronger. That's what I'm trying to do."